NEED TO KNOW:
John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
NEED TO KNOW:
NO. 20 RUTGERS (7-3, 1-1) at NO. 4 IOWA (7-0, 2-0)
When: Friday, Jan. 18, 2019 at 9 p.m. Eastern.
Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
How to watch: BTN.
How to listen: WRSU-FM 88.7.
All-time: Iowa leads series, 4-0.
125 POUNDS: Shane Metzler (7-9) vs. No. 2 Spencer Lee (10-1)
Prior meetings: —
Common opponents: Metzler 2-2, Lee 6-0.
Forecast: Lee, the reigning national champion at 125 pounds and the man that beat Nick Suriano in last year’s NCAA final, has been in a bit of a rut lately — at least by his high standards. Lee lost his top ranking with a loss to Northwestern’s Sebastian Rivera at the Midlands Championships, and he only beat Minnesota’s No. 6 Sean Russell by decision, 4-0, this past weekend. Unfortunately for Rutgers, this could be a get-well bout for Lee. Metzler did a good job holding Wisconsin’s No. 14 Connor Brown to a decision in Rutgers’ criteria win over the Badgers, but he was overwhelmed by Oklahoma State’s No. 4 Nick Piccininni the last time out.
133 POUNDS: No. 3 Nick Suriano (14-1) vs. No. 8 Austin DeSanto (11-1)
Prior meetings: —
Common opponents: Suriano 6-1, DeSanto 7-0.
Forecast: The featured bout of the dual meet. This one should have a heck of a lot more action than Suriano and Fix, and the likelihood of some controversy during or after the bout as well. Both competitors are fiery; there’s a reason Brands joked that BTN should put this bout on pay-per-view. It’s a test for DeSanto, who blew a big lead against Rutgers’ Scott DelVecchio in the blood round at last year’s NCAA Championships while wrestling for Drexel. Can he hang with one of the top guys at the weight? That remains to be seen, but DeSanto is certainly going to fight while finding out. The same goes for Suriano, who will be eager to move past the Fix debacle. Expect fireworks.
141 POUNDS: Peter Lipari (6-7) vs. No. 15 Max Murin (9-3)
Prior meetings: —
Common opponents: Lipari 0-5, Murin 3-2.
Forecast: Lipari is coming off a good weekend, albeit one that ended with two close losses. He has been wrestling well and this could be a bout where Rutgers has a chance for an upset. Lipari will need to bring his A-game, though. Murin likely would have wrestled for the Hawkeyes last season as a true freshman before training injuries sidelined him. He can be a slow starter, so Lipari’s best chances may come early.
